Jennifer Carroll MacNeill (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am sharing time with Deputy Niamh Smyth. I am happy to be given the opportunity to speak in this debate. In this House of our peaceful democracy, we weave in and out of the corridors intermingling with journalists working freely to report and analyse, to critique and reflect to those outside in an honest way, and to report faithfully on the facts in front of them. We are privileged to live in such a society. It is a great responsibility for journalists too, to report faithfully and to acknowledge errors if and where they occur. Surely that is everyone’s responsibility but especially those in whom faith is placed to report accurately.

Because of that privilege we all share, we must take time as we are doing today to reflect on those less fortunate, those living and working in war and in particular those who try to report faithfully the honest truth to the outside. The role of journalists, and their support teams, camera people, producers and editors is so important to those of us who it is to be hoped will never experience conflict in ways we have seen in the likes of Ukraine, Syria, Afghanistan, Northern Ireland, Israel, Iraq and so many other places. If the work of journalists in general is fundamental to the democratic state, it is even more important in situations of conflict to tell the individual stories of war. I acknowledge the sheer bravery of these people to go willingly into such dangerous situations, to tell us the stories of conflict so that we are not ignorant to the struggles faced by so many across the world.

An academic study published in Media, War & Conflictjournal in 2009 highlighted the increasingly common violence against journalists over the previous two decades, a trend that has not abated since. From it, we learn that the Committee on the Protection of Journalists, which is a press protection movement that advocates for and aids detained journalists, reported that two journalists were killed during the First World War and 66 journalists were killed in the Vietnam conflict. In more recent conflicts, from Bosnia to Sierra Leone to Afghanistan, multiple instances of insurgents deliberately targeting journalists have been reported. The trend is even more disturbing in Iraq. Since the war in Iraq began in March 2003, up to 2008, more than 127 journalists and 50 media workers have been killed while on assignment. Those figures from the 2009 study are now clearly out of date.

Reporters without Borders tells us that between 300 and 700 journalists have been killed in air strikes or executed since 2011 in Syria. It is not possible to confirm an exact number due to many reasons, including lack of record-keeping and lack of transparency. Such a high number shocked me in the course of preparing for these statements. We do not hear enough about this generally across the world. Those figures do not even include the number of journalists arrested or abducted and now missing in the course of their work.

The increased demand for on-the-ground news coverage of war has made journalists a target for increased attacks. The blurring of lines between war and terrorism has led to previous international conventions on the protection of journalists to be ignored, resulting in increased endangerment. The Committee on the Protection of Journalists has reported that those journalists murdered in war are often killed in acts of reprisal or to prevent them from successfully reporting on the conflict, because of the key role journalists play.

There are three journalists who have died recently whom I wish to highlight today and then I would like to speak about the day-to-day realities of reporting in conflict. The death last week of Shireen Abu Akleh in the West Bank is the most recent, tragic death in a long list of journalists who have given their lives for their work. She was a brilliant and effective journalist killed in the course of her work. I would also like to mention another journalist, Ali Al Samoud, who was wounded in the attack that killed Ms Abu Akleh.

In my own constituency earlier this year, we had the profound loss of Pierre Zakrzewski, a cameraman who had covered conflict across the Middle East, Asia and Africa before his untimely death in Ukraine. It was very early on in Russia’s unjustified invasion of Ukraine, where once again we were entirely reliant on journalists for hourly updates and on-the-ground first-hand accounts of the cruelty and devastation.

At home here in Ireland, two journalists have been killed due to and in the course of their work. Just three years ago, we saw the tragic death of Lyra McKee, who was murdered while observing riots in Northern Ireland. It is a stark reminder of how hard we need to work to maintain peace on this island. Of course, we cannot speak on this subject in this House without remembering the death of Veronica Guerin in 1996, and her work reporting on drug and gang related crimes in Ireland. It is not directly within the terms of this debate but her bravery was no different from those mentioned before.

There are so many journalists who have been killed. The world saw this so acutely in 2002 when The Wall Street Journaljournalist Daniel Pearl, investigating al-Qaeda, was captured and beheaded in Pakistan. There are so many others who can be mentioned. The House will note I have tried to focus on the journalists themselves and the course of their work without trying to attribute blame in any particular way. I simply acknowledge the difficulty of the work they are doing. It is very important to focus on their work, not just their deaths. Work today is ongoing in Ukraine in particular that is beyond brave.

On the day that Ukraine was invaded, 24 February, I had a Topical Issue matter in the Dáil with the Minister, Deputy Coveney, on the invasion of Ukraine and what we as a country could do to be supportive. It was my privilege to be able to welcome my friend, a Ukrainian, and her family, into the Gallery and to meet the Minister following the debate. This lady’s brother is Vitaly Sych, chief editor of The New Voice of Ukraine, a leading newspaper. On that day three months ago, she did not know whether he would survive the conflict. She was worried he would be particularly targeted due to his work as a journalist. A decade earlier, a friend of theirs, also a journalist, had been killed by Russians. In spite of that fear, Vitaly has continued to speak out and be extremely vocal on the Russian invasion. He is still there. Just two days ago he was speaking to CNN following his return to Kyiv from Lviv, describing the state of the streets, the remnants and damage caused by street fighting in the main city. He spoke of people returning to their homes to find them broken into and looted. I would like to read an extract from his blog from Ukraine, which is on atlanticcouncil.org, describing the reality of what he is doing on a day-to-day basis:

When my wife hurriedly woke me up in the early hours of February 24 and I first looked out of the window, I could not believe my eyes. The familiar panoramic view from our apartment on the twentieth floor overlooking the Dnipro River was now dotted with huge columns of black smoke. Our entire building was shaking from explosions as missiles rained down on the outskirts of Kyiv. The unthinkable had happened. Even though we all knew Russia had amassed a huge army on the Ukrainian border, I remained convinced until the very last moment that it was all a geopolitical bluff. Like so many Ukrainians, I could not believe anyone would launch a full-scale military invasion in the center of Europe. Such things simply did not happen anymore. Not in 2022. I grabbed my phone and was immediately confronted by footage of Russian President Vladimir Putin proclaiming the start of a “special military operation” in Ukraine. His speech was completely unhinged and full of wild historical distortions. “This is war,” I said to my wife. For weeks I had downplayed her concerns about a possible war, often while gently teasing her and making sarcastic remarks. Despite my apparent confidence, my wife had remained unconvinced. She kept the tank of the car full, evening purchasing and filling an extra petrol canister. She packed changes of clothes and personal documents for all the family and bought lots of dry food. I thought this was over the top and said so. Sadly, she turned out to be right.

The day had barely begun, but it was already time to get our eight-year-old twins Peter and Anna out of the city. We had read numerous reports from the British and US intelligence services describing in detail how Russian security forces had compiled kill lists of Ukrainian journalists, activists, and politicians hostile to Moscow who were to be rounded up and executed during the initial stages of the occupation. My wife and I knew my name must be somewhere on those lists. A brief look at my Facebook profile or a glance through the magazine I manage would be enough to get me into trouble with the Russians. My magazine’s last cover page before we were forced to suspend publication due to the war had featured Putin alongside senile Russian dictators Lenin and Stalin. All three were portrayed in wheelchairs styled to invoke a well-known Soviet photo of Lenin’s last days. The headline read “Kremlin Madhouse.” This was entirely in keeping with the spirit of the publication. It was clearly unwise for us to stay in Kyiv.

After more than three days of almost non-stop driving that felt like three weeks, we finally reached the border. Our farewells were mercifully short. As we kissed and hugged our goodbyes, I had no idea if I would ever see my family again. They crossed into Slovakia and were finally safe. A week later, The Irish Times would publish an article about my family's escape headlined "Now we have a chance to cry."

Until recently, the two children, Peter and Anna, were in school in Dundrum. I believe they now have to return to Ukraine because the Ukrainian Government has decided that state employees have to return to work or else forfeit their positions. These are the incredibly difficult decisions that journalists, but also their families, have to make on a day-to-day basis. These are the realities of conflict.

Vitaly remained on the Ukrainian side of the border, entirely alone. Like everyone else there, he was facing a future of uncertainty. He returned to Lviv and his wartime life began. In Lviv, he was living in an apartment with his magazine partner. He got a text message asking if he was still alive. He said he immediately understood that the noise that had woken him up was the sound of Russian ballistic missiles. He states:

I peered out of my window and saw smoke rising from somewhere in the downtown area of Lviv. Five Russian missiles had hit the city, leaving seven dead and dozens wounded.

[...]

This was the third Russian airstrike on Lviv, a city close to the EU border that is generally regarded as safe. "Are we still going to do our radio show today?" I asked Serhiy. "Why not?" he replied. So we did. Since settling in Lviv during the early days of the war, we have already broadcast more than 40 episodes of the show. We go on air every day, always around lunchtime.

Vitaly also talks about the location problem he has in respect of living and doing his work. He observes that location is the most important feature, as with all real estate, but that in his case it is definitely a problem. The apartment they are renting is close to a huge military base and on the top floor. He states:

The threat of Russian airstrikes is no longer hyperthetical. Indeed, the ambassador of Kazakhstan was living just a few blocks away until recently but was advised by his security team to move out of the neighborhood. This apparent danger is a source of amusement to locals. When they find out where we live, they joke that our landlord should actually be paying us. To make matters worse, the apartment is on the top floor of the building.

Several deadly Russian missile attacks have killed dozens of Ukrainian soldiers in the area. Sirens go off in the city and everybody knows how to react now. Vitaly has now moved back to Kyiv with his family. I just wanted to highlight what he is doing as an example of the role of journalists in conflicts and the challenges they face from day to day. It is such an important matter to reflect upon but it is important to do so not just in respect of Ukraine, Israel and Iraq but also elsewhere around the world. The same challenges are faced in conflict zones by all journalists and we have to commend them for their bravery today.

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